Château Laurier

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Château Laurier seen from Rideau Street.

Château Laurier seen from the Peace Tower.

The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel in downtown Ottawa, Canada. Given its proximity to Parliament Hill and the fact that it has served as a home and meeting place for many notable political figures over the years, the hotel has often been referred to as "the third chamber of Parliament".

The hotel is located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive, and is just metres away from some of the capital's most important landmarks including Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, the National Gallery of Canada, the Byward Market, the National War Memorial, the American Embassy, and the Rideau Centre.

The hotel was originally commissioned by Grand Trunk Railway chairman Charles Melville Hays, and was constructed between 1909 and 1912 in tandem with Ottawa's downtown Union Station (now the Government Conference Centre) across the street. The plans for the hotel initially generated some controversy as the Château was to be constructed on what was then a portion of Major's Hill Park. Wilfrid Laurier, then the Prime Minister of Canada, helped secure the important site for the construction, and the hotel was eventually named in his honour. Further conflict ensued when the original architect, Bradford Lee Gilbert, was dismissed due to disagreements with Grand Trunk executives, and the Montreal firm of Ross and Macfarlane was hired to complete the design.

The hotel was to be opened on April 26, 1912, but Hays, who was returning to Canada for the hotel opening, perished aboard the RMS Titanic when it sank on April 14. A subdued opening ceremony was held on June 12, 1912, with Wilfrid Laurier in attendance.

When the Grand Trunk became part of the Canadian National Railway in 1924, the Château Laurier became one of CN's most important hotels. For years, the hotel thrived, playing host to royalty, heads of state, political figures, celebrities and members of Canada's elite. During the 1960s and 1970s, the construction of numerous competing hotels in the capital, as well as the closure of Union Station, lead to a slow decline in the Château's fortunes. Significant work was undertaken in the 1980s to refurbish and renovate the Château Laurier, however, thus restoring its position as Ottawa's preeminent hotel.

The hotel was operated by CN until 1988 when it was purchased, along with the other CN hotels, by the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1999 it was renamed the Fairmont Château Laurier after CP bought the large American Fairmont chain and changed its name to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

In addition to hotel guests, the Château Laurier has also served over the years as the home of two important Ottawa institutions. From July 1924 to October 2004, the sixth floor of the hotel was home to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's local English and French language radio stations (a legacy that commenced when the Canadian National Railway established Ottawa's first radio station). Yousuf Karsh, one of the world's most renowned portrait photographers, maintained his studio and residence at the Château Laurier for many years.

The hotel was the inspiration for the "Hotel du Canada" at the Canada (Epcot) pavilion in Orlando, Florida.

[edit] References

Chisholm, Barbara, ed., Castles of the North: Canada's Grand Hotels, Toronto: Lynx Images, 2001.
Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee of Ottawa, Ottawa: A Guide to Heritage Structures, Ottawa: LACAC, City of Ottawa, 2000.
Rankin, Joan E., Meet Me at the Château: A Legacy of Memory, Toronto: Natural Heritage Books, 1990.